The Manchester City forward clipped in a beautiful shot on 39 minutes to beat team-mate Joe Hart, then ran towards the bench holding his finger to his mouth in a shushing motion and mouthing the words "Ferme ta gueule! Ferme ta gueule!" over and over again.
The angry display - which is a crude French version of telling someone "shut your mouth" - earned Nasri censure after the game despite his man-of-the-match display.
Early reports had somewhat bizarrely suggested that Nasri was aiming his anger at England coach Gary Neville, who was outspoken in his criticism of the former Arsenal player last summer.
But the 24-year-old Frenchman revealed after the match that his outburst was aimed at French journalists who had been fiercely critical of him in the build-up to the tournament. In typical Nasri fashion, he confirmed this to the face of the L'Equipe journalist who he had in mind.
"He asked me who the insult was aimed at, I said it was for him," Nasri said after the game.
"It was frustration. I was shot down in flames after the warm-up matches for following the coach's instructions," he added later.
French Football Federation chief Noel Graet defended the player, saying that, "the lad behaves very well. His gesture was not serious," while France coach Laurent Blanc insisted that the insult was "between him and his detractors, no one else".
"It's something personal," Blanc added. "He was happy to score and played a good game, and has become one of our key players.
"You sometimes have to be a bit more patient with creative players like him but, if they buy into your philosophy, they can give you the right reaction out on the pitch. He did that for us against England."
